Without HIM we are nothing.. 

WITH HIM, we are EVERYTHING!

Vamos viver nossos sonhos! (let us live our dreams)

Oi!! This week was crazy and passed so fast. First off, I recieved a package from grandpa and grandma Porter for Halloween and it was awesome! Thank you :)

I also received a letter from a man I talked to at the MCC (Missionary Training Center). I shared the gospel with him (haha like always) and it was neat to receive a letter from him not knowing that I had made an impact on him. I also received a "dearelder" letter from a soon to be sister missionary who will be serving in the Brasil Santa Maria mission who lives in Queen Creek.  It was so sweet seeing that the blog that my mom posts my emails on is helping girls prepare to serve here. 

This week was weird. In Brazil they change the hours every once in awhile, so on Saturday the whole country switched the clock an hour ahead. So ya, we lost an hour haha. It was so funny because Sister R. and I were dying that it was 8 oclock at night with the sun still out haah. 

Funny things this week:

-People keep asking me what my real name is and when I say ´Alena´they all look at me like I'm lying or something and say ´No, your name in English´haha. Makes me grateful for my name, but its hilarious

-A song was playing in the street in Spanish and it was so funny because Sister R. and I knew the song word for word, and she looked at me like ´What the?! How do you know it?!´haha Thanks Alec for always playing your spanish songs in your car haha

-When we ask people to pray and they say they can't and start coughing like they are all of a sudden sick or something...haha

This week was amazing. absolutely difficult, but so amazing. We had district conference with three branches and Presidente P. came and spoke. It was so neat. The whole building was full of people and we had so many investigators there too. President P. made all of us missionaries come up to the front and sing the mission song and everyone cried. It was amazing. 

We had divisions with the sister training leaders and sister B. and I found an elect!

Her name is C. and we started teaching her about the plan of salvation and she burst into tears and told us that her grandpa was a member of the church and died not too long ago. She told us that she wants to be baptized and follow his life of goodness. I was dying. The spirit is real. Members have been giving us so many references and we have been working a ton. E. and R. received their wedding papers!!! They want to wait until November 29th to get married, but she needs to get baptized now. Last night we taught them about the Lords timing and challenged them to pray about a date. We prayed all day yesterday and know that God wants her to baptized on Nov. 7th. So we challenged her to pray with R. about this day and we are praying tons that they will know that it is what God wants and that they need to be sealed in a year.  C.is a friend of E. and they want to get baptized on the same day. Um, ya I'm dying with joy! We had a family night this week about the Light of Christ. I have been thinking a lot about how he has truly done everything for us. Without Him we are nothing...but with Him, we are everything. This week I've been thinking a lot about how blessed I've been. I feel I need to share this with you all today. When I first came here to Brazil I was so frustrated. I couldnt speak and had such a desire to share the gospel with everyone but couldn't do so in the way I did in the US.,I was soooo sick with migraines that made me feel like my head was going to explode every day, and I honestly didn't know what to do. I felt abandoned. Through this time of difficulty I came to know my Savior more than I ever had before. I know him. I learned to completely rely on him. Have complete faith and trust in His plan. Know that He is in control. that He can do all things. That he has all power and all knowlege. I learned through this that when we press forward with faith, knowing that we are doing His will, He will always help us. Always. He loves us. He hears our prayers. He knows our struggles, our desires, and our hearts. Trust in him always. Trust in HIS plan for you. It isn't the easy plan, but it's the best plan. I love him and am so grateful that he healed me and is changing me, teaching me, and using me to bless his children here in Brazil. Always remember Him and all things will work for your good. :) 

Sister Porter